Grosey's Messages

Luke 20 Recognition and Rejection

27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."

 34 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons  of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." 39 Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well." 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

41 But he said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is David's son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,   43 until I make your enemies your footstool."'

 44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?"

45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47  who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

Luke 22: 1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.  3 And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Here is the second test that those who rejected the Lord Jesus used to try to trap the Lord. They were trying to bring Him into disrepute.  This time it is the Sadducee's turn.

Hughes introduces us to the Sadducees.

The Sadducees had become a class unto themselves, based on their hereditary advantage as descendants of Zadok, those who had been granted the privilege of serving as priests after the return from the Babylonian captivity. These "Zadokites" formed the nucleus for the priesthood staffing the Jerusalem temple. During Jesus' time the Sadducees had a lock on the high-priestly line and were a tightly knit group of lay as well as priestly leaders. Josephus described them as "well-to-do" (Ant. 13.10, 6 §298) and "men of the highest esteem" (Ant. 18.1, 4 §17). As such, they were thoroughly rooted in this world. The temple business of selling animals and exchanging money belonged to the Sadducees. Josephus said of the Sadducean high priest Ananias that he advanced in reputation because "he was able to supply them with money" (Ant. 20.205).

As a result the Sadducees had become thoroughgoing philosophical/theological materialists—a most convenient philosophy for the "haves." They did not believe in life after death, and they did not believe eternal judgment awaited anyone. Josephus explains, "As for the persistence of the soul, penalties in death's abode, and rewards, they do away with them" (War 2.8, 14 §165), and also, "the soul perishes along with the body" (Ant. 18. 1, 4 §16). This all produced a blatant denial of the resurrection. The basis for their belief was a strict interpretation of the Torah (the Pentateuch), in which they claimed they could find no reference to resurrection. They rejected the resurrection witness of the non-Pentateuchal parts of the Old Testament (for example, Job 19:26; Psalm 16:9–11; Isaiah 26:19) and remained closed-minded to any of the Pharisees' arguments to the contrary (cf. Ant. 13:297)."

This tight little circle of mean-spirited, religious aristocrats, Josephus says were "indeed more heartless than any other of the Jews" (Ant. 18:17) and that "The Sadducees . . . are, even among themselves, rather boorish in their behavior, and in their intercourse with their peers are as rude as aliens" (War 2, 8.14).

And these Sadducees had a theological question they loved to pose for their opponents, the Pharisees. They had used riddle to embarrass and silence the resurrection-believing Pharisees. (29–33).

The idea may have been borrowed from the apocryphal book of Tobit, which tells the bizarre story of a woman who married seven times only to have each husband strangled by a demon in the bedchamber on the wedding night (a kind of intertestamental Stephen King tale!—cf. Tobit 3:8, 15; 6:13; 7:11). They were having a go at the ridiculous story to make it seem even more ludicrous.

Seven brothers marrying the same woman–and each of them dying.  Can you imagine them telling the story.. some cook this girl was!

So they tell the story with humour, and ask.. in the resurrection, which one's wife shall she be?

So the Lord answers.

First, Jesus said, there will be no marriage in the resurrection (Luke 20:34-36). This showed (a) that the present Age contrasts sharply with the Age to come; and (b) when people are resurrected, they will be like the angels, being God's children and children of the resurrection. Jesus did not say that resurrected people become angels. His point was that they, like angels, will be immortal. Thus there will be no further need for procreation, and the marriage relationship will not be necessary.

Second, Jesus pointed out that there certainly will be a resurrection (vv. 37-38). He referred to an incident when the Lord told Moses that He is the God of the patriarchs (Ex. 3:6). Jesus appealed to Moses because the Sadducees wrongly taught that Moses' teachings did not reveal a resurrection. The statement that the Lord is the God of the patriarchs should have shown the Sadducees that the patriarchs were still alive (He is . . . the God ... of the living), even though those words were uttered several hundred years after the last patriarch's death. God was preserving them alive for future resurrection.

He shows you and I how to answer those who mock us.  Tell them the truth. Unalloyed.  Throw in a scripture!  These Sadducees didn't respect the scriptures. The Lord did. And we do!  Their attitude is not our problem. It is their problem.

There are numerous places in the Old Testament outside the Torah from which resurrection can clearly be understood.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:2, 3)

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. (Isaiah 26:19; cf. 25:8)

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.  (Psalm 73:24; cf. vv. 25–28)   (Job 19:25–27)

So the resurrection is clear in the Old Testament. But more specifically, the Torah itself bears evidence as well.

The Lord, however, wasn't defending a biblical proposition about what heaven and the resurrection would be like. He was demonstrating the heart of people.

Some people receive Jesus. Some people reject Jesus.

So the Lord Jesus then turns to the real question.  The real question is."who is this One standing before them? Is He the Messiah? Is He the Lord? Is He Yahweh?"

Do you receive or reject Jesus?

20:41-44. Jesus took the offensive and asked a question of the people around Him. The question concerned the nature of the Messiah-How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David?  Jesus then quoted from Psalm 110:1, in which David called the Messiah my Lord and said that He was exalted by being at Yahweh's right hand, the place of prominence. Two points are evident in these words of Jesus.

First, the Son of David is also David's Lord (Luke 20:44) by the power of the resurrection. (In Acts 2:34-35 Peter used the same verse from Ps. 110 to prove that Jesus' superiority is based on His resurrection.)

Second, David must have realized that the Son, who was to be the Messiah, would be divine, for David called Him Lord.

Now this is aimed directly at the Sadducees.    They were the hereditary Priests. Some thought of themselves as Priest-Kings!  "But [Jesus] said to them, 'How can they say that the Christ is David's son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool"'" (vv. 41–43).

He, Jesus, is David's Messiah-King, David's Lord. Jesus received the title shouted from the lips of the blind Bartimaeus: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (18:38).

Jesus received the acclaim of the people who cried out in terms derived from the prophet Zechariah's description of the Priest-King the previous day "hosanna in the highest, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" as He rode into Jerusalem mounted on the donkey as Zechariah prophesied.

And now, He quotes it back to them from Psalm 110!  He is the Priest King who replaces them!!  The Psalm's description of this king's mission makes it clear that he is Messiah.  Also, the opening two words of the Psalm ("The LORD") is literally "Yahweh"—"Yahweh says to my Lord [Messiah]: 'Sit at my right hand.'"  Verse 4 asserts that Messiah will replace the old covenant's temporal Levitical priesthood with the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek. Thus the entire Psalm describes the Messiah as an eternal Priest-King. The writers of the New Testament grasped this in a big way, making Psalm 110 one of the most quoted Old Testament texts.  (Hebrews 1:13).  (Acts 2:34–36)  (Hebrews 5:4–10) (Hebrews 7:15–17,20,21).

The Lord challenges each person there with one question: Who do you say Jesus is?

41 But he said to them, …  44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?"

The question is framed as an out there question, a cognitive question demanding an answer. It is a riddle for the Sadducee's minds. But it is a bigger riddle for the human heart. If Jesus is the Messiah, if He is the One who  "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,   43 until I make your enemies your footstool."'

What is your heart attitude to Him? Have you recognized Him as your Lord, Saviour, Prophet Priest and King?

Now having said that the Lord will now point up the Priests problem.

Can you imagine the Lord Jesus seated there in the temple as various people move through the temple, merchants, shepherds poor people, carpenters, farmers, with their various offerings. Some so poor.. and all the while the Sadducees hovering around making sure they are going to get their cut of the profits. 

45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47  who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

Luke 22: 1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.  3 And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

The Priests and scribes lives were bound up in greed and pride-they desired to be on display (flowing robes),  to have people's attention (to be greeted in the marketplaces), prominence above others showing their power (important seats in the synagogues and . . . at banquets), and  more money, taking from those who did not have much (e.g., widows).

That's why there is the bit about the poor widow comes in from the next chapter. "[They] devour widows' houses" (v. 47). They did this by taking payment from widows for legal aid even though such payments were prohibited, cheating inexperienced widows of their inheritance, living off the hospitality of lonely women, mismanaging widows' property who had dedicated themselves to service in the temple, and accepting money from the naive elderly in exchange for special prayer. Widows had little means of support, were socially powerless and were to be protected under Jewish law. Jesus could mean that these teachers exploit widows' resources by seeking extensive tithes (which they could set at twenty to thirty percent, on top of the heavy land taxes levied by the government); or he could mean that they follow the letter of the law toward creditors in legal decisions, rather than showing mercy to the poor as the law also required. These teachers may have lingered long in their individual prayers in the synagogues; here Jesus criticizes not the length of prayers but the motive for this length."

Jesus ended his attack on the teachers with the deadly warning: "They will receive the greater condemnation" (v. 47b).

The Lord is comparing these people.  But the real issue is their heart attitude towards the Lord Jesus.

The Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees were more enamoured with what the world could give them.  They loved the things they could get from religion.

But they didn't love the Messiah.

The poor widow putting her two cents in the place showed more love for the Messiah than those religionists.

And it is the same today.

There are some who are more concerned for dollars and cents than they are for love to the Messiah. There are some who are more concerned for personal recognition than they are for the Messiah Jesus.

If you recognize Jesus as your Messiah He will over-turn all those things in your life that matter!  He will reveal the secrets of your heart to you!  Do you find your personal security in a healthy bank account and good job?  Do you find your personal security in your house or property or in the Lord Jesus?  He will touch those things that you value most to show you which one you truly treasure most.

As Joseph Bayly observed, "No person can foster the impression that he/she is great, then exalt a great God."

Our greatest problem as Christians is not the people outside who don't hear our words about the Messiah Jesus, it is us inside the church who though we know about the Lord Jesus, still have things in our lives that to us are more important than the Messiah Jesus: Our pride at being seen as doing something for God, our significance drawn from others, while we haven't really settled that issue in our won hearts, drawing our true significance from the Messiah! Our security in our own personal wealth and well being.

And the solution is recognising deeply who Jesus is, and what He calls us to be in relationship to Himself.

The Lord tells now the outcomes:

To one group:  Rejection!  They will receive the greater condemnation."

To others: Recognition! "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them… but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

If you do not recognise Jesus as Lord and Messiah there will be rejection!

If you do recognise Jesus as Lord and Messiah, other things grow pale in that light, and He will recognise you. I wonder.. do you think that poor widow recognized how big her gift was in comparison? Did she recognize that she was giving all she had to live on? Probably not. It was her custom to love God. It was her custom to await her Messiah. Nothing else mattered but that.

1. Man by nature, or the human condition (verses 1–3)

a. We were dead

And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked (verses 1–2a). The death to which Paul refers is not a figure of speech, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son, 'This my son was dead'; it is a factual statement of everybody's spiritual condition outside Christ. And it is traced to their trespasses and sins. These two words seem to have been carefully chosen to give a comprehensive account of human evil. A 'trespass' (paraptōma) is a false step, involving either the crossing of a known boundary or a deviation from the right path.

b. We were enslaved

Paul is not content to say simply that we once walked in trespasses and sins. The expression is a Hebraism, indicating our former behaviour or lifestyle. But a 'walk' suggests (at least to western minds) a pleasant promenade in the countryside, with leisured freedom to enjoy the beauties of our surroundings. Very different, however, was our former 'walk in trespasses and sins'. There was no true freedom there, but rather a fearful bondage to forces over which we had no control. What were they? If behind death lies sin, what lies behind sin that we are held in such captivity? Paul's answer, when put into later ecclesiastical terminology, is 'the world, the flesh and the devil'. For he refers to these three influences as controlling and directing our former pre-Christian existence.

Our second captivity was to the devil, who is here named the prince of the power of the air or 'the ruler of the kingdom of the air'. The word for 'air' could be translated 'foggy atmosphere', indicating the darkness which the devil prefers to light. But the whole phrase need mean no more than that he has command of those 'principalities and powers' already mentioned, who operate in the unseen world. It is unfashionable nowadays in the church (even while satanism flourishes outside it) to believe either in a personal devil or in personal demonic intelligences under his command. But there is no obvious reason why church fashion should be the director of theology, whereas the plain teaching of Jesus and his apostles (not to mention the church of the subsequent centuries) endorsed their malevolent existence.

A further phrase is the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Since the words the spirit are in the genitive, they are not in apposition to the prince

(accusative). We must rather understand that 'the ruler of the kingdom of the air' is also 'the ruler of the spirit which works in disobedient people'. 'Spirit' then becomes an impersonal force or mood which is actively at work in non-Christian people. Since Scripture identifies the devil not only as the source of temptations to sin, but also as a 'lion' and a 'murderer', we may safely trace all evil, error and violence back to him in the end. When he and the mood he inspires are said to be at work in human beings, the verb (energeō) is the same as that used of God's power (1:20) which raised Jesus from the dead. Only that divine energy or action could have rescued us from the devil.

The phrase κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος (kata ton archonta tēs

exousias tou aeros, according to the Ruler of the realm of the air) takes the

plight of Paul's readers deeper still. The term ἐξουσία (exousia) is sometimes

used of the "domain" or "realm" of a king (2Kings 20:13 LXX; Luke 23:7)

and metaphorically of the "realm" that the devil, or Satan, rules (Luke 4:6; cf.

22:53; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13). The domain of which Paul speaks here is the ἀήρ

(aēr, air). In ancient Aristotelian cosmology, the ἀήρ was the region below the

moon and above the earth (Urmson 1990: 10), and in much ancient thinking,

it was also the habitation of spiritual powers. Plutarch (Mor. 274b), describing

an ancient view with which he seems to agree, says that "the open air"

(ὁὕπαιθρος ἀήρ, ho hypaithros aēr) is "full of gods and demons."15 Diogenes

Laertius (Vit. phil. 8.32), describing the view of Pythagoras, says that "all the

air [ἀέρα, aera] is full of souls [ψυχῶν, psychōn], and these are also called

[ὀνομάζεσθαι, onomazesthai] demons [δαίμονας, daimonas] and divinized,

departed human beings [ἥρωας, hērōas]."16 These powers were thought to

send people dreams and visions. They needed to be placated and wooed with

"purifications and lustrations … divination, and the like" (Vit. phil. 8.32).17

They were also the object of magical incantations that sought to control them.

Clearly, the powers that inhabited the air were widely feared.

For Paul, the "air" was probably part of the "heavenly places" and the location,

within them, of "every name that is named" (πᾶς ὄνομα ὀνομαζόμενος,

pas onoma onomazomenos, 1:21). These names signified the inimical spiritual

powers over whom God had given Christ the victory when he raised him from

the dead and seated him at his right hand (1:20–21; cf. 6:12). Christ's place

in the heavens is high above them (1:21; 4:10), and they are beneath his feet

(1:22). Before they believed the gospel, Paul's readers lived according to the

norms of the Ruler of these evil beings, and in Ephesians, this Ruler could

only be "the devil" (4:27; 6:11–12).

The devil is not only the ruler of the air but is also the ruler τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ

νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας (tou pneumatos tou nyn energountos

en tois hyiois tēs apeitheias, of the spirit now at work within the sons of disobedience).

As the additional note on τοῦ πνεύματος explains, this term probably

refers to the evil, spiritual force that is at work within οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς ἀπειθείας (hoi

hyioi tēs apeitheias, the sons of disobedience; cf. 1Cor. 2:12). The word ἀπείθεια

(apeitheia) carries the connotation not merely of disobedience to a command

but also of unbelief, a heartfelt refusal to place one's confidence in something

(BDAG 99; cf. 4Macc. 8:7–9; Rom. 11:30). In Ephesians, therefore, "the sons of

disobedience" are those who have not believed "the word of truth, the gospel

of .. salvation" (1:13) and who, because of this, stand under the wrath of

God (5:6; cf. 1:14; 2:3) Frank Theilman Baker Exegetical Commentary 2010.

Thus first, God made us alive together with Christ (verse 5), next he raised us up with him (verse 6a), and thirdly he made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (verse 6b).

These verbs ('made alive', 'raised' and 'made to sit') refer to the three successive historical events in the saving career of Jesus, which are normally called the resurrection, the ascension and the session. We declare our belief in them when we say the Creed: 'The third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and he sits at the right hand of God the Father.' What excites our amazement, however, is that now Paul is not writing about Christ but about us. He is affirming not that God quickened, raised and seated Christ, but that he quickened, raised and seated us with Christ.

He has written about the Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of the Father in Ephesians 1:19- 23 " ..and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

"1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body1  and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.2  4 But3  God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

Everything that is under Christ's feet is now under your feet too.

Luke 10: 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" 18 And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20  Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Friends here at Macarthur Christian Reformed Church, this passage touches very close to the bone tonight. I know of some to whom this passage applies tonight. And we must if we are Christians, obey this passage.

There had been a problem in Corinth. It could have been the person referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5,13: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

It could be this fellow: he was disciplined by the church. He would have experienced great grief.  His repentance and reception back into the church would be warranted.

But 2 Corinthians 2 specifies something slightly different.

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you.

It could be this man, but, looking more carefully at the text, it says, this person caused particular grief to the apostle Paul. This fellow had caused pain particularly to Paul, and consequently had shut down Paul's ministry to that church.  The guy in 1Corinthians 5 probably had not shut down Paul's ministry as he was out of the church.  I think something like this may have happened:

At Corinth it may have happened something like this: When Paul learned from Timothy's visit to Corinth that there were troubles in the church, Paul paid the Corinthians an unscheduled visit, presuming that he would quickly fix things and be on his way. To his surprise, he was opposed to his face. Apparently a leader of the Corinthian church publicly attacked Paul while the church passively observed (2 Corinthians 10-12). Paul's thorn in the flesh was probably a person there in Corinth.  The attacker had come under the sway of Paul's opponents who had recently come to Corinth. As to the nature of the insults, probably about Paul's integrity — namely, that he was dishonest and double-minded and lacking in courage. Also, it was likely charged or insinuated that he was appropriating the collection for the poor in Jerusalem for his own needs. Moreover, all this was probably laced with comments about his ministerial effectiveness.

In any event the humiliating surprise attack, coupled with a lack of support by the church, had so taken Paul aback that he elected to leave Corinth for a time.  Sometimes it is better to let a church work through its issues.

If grief was experienced by him alone, he might have followed the advice he gave in 1 Corinthians 6:7 and simply suffered the wrong. However, it was the congregation as a whole, as well as Paul, that had been affected, and so the matter had to be dealt with.

It was in the wake of this rejection that Paul wrote his severe, painful letter, described in the opening verses of chapter 2. The letter did its work, as Paul reflects later in 7:8-13a:

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it — though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted.

The majority of the Corinthians repented. And though it does not say what they did with the offender, the consensus is that they cast him from the fellowship of the church, because this best fits the following account and is consistent with a previously mentioned case of discipline in Corinth (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). And by God's grace the offender repented and sought forgiveness. There was only one problem — the Corinthians hadn't forgiven him and had no desire to do so!

This hard-hearted unforgiveness, this failure to forgive, this tendency to turn away from those who have caused pain and embarrassment (despite their repentance), looked to Paul like another major failure for the church. Failure to forgive would have put the church out of step with its gracious Saviour. Have we here failed to forgive others? 

A church can be turned onto a Christless cult by emphasizing anything other than the gospel of Christ. A church can be turned into a Christless cult by not exhibiting the graciousness that is in Christ to others, even to those who have offended.

Unforgiven  a movie in 1992 starring and produced by Clint Eastwood. It is a revisionist western. Clint Eastwood strips away decades of Hollywood varnish applied to the Wild West, and emerges with a series of harshly eloquent statements about the nature of violence.

The film portrays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming.  In an interview Clint Eastwood was asked why certain names appeared in his film fake graveyard. Were these the "unforgiven" who had hurt him in the past? Well in spite of the movie winning 4 academy awards, its story line is not as significant as its title.  Unforgiven!

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent–not to put it too severely.

1Corinthians Paul had explained, "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (12:26). And later in 2 Corinthians he will reference the same interconnectedness: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?" (11:29). Clearly, there is profound spiritual commonality between all true believers.

Discipline had accomplished its purpose. (5, 6) This is the point that is made in 2 Cor. 2:6: "The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him." It has accomplished its goal, but in this church the people are insensitive to that fact. They aren't watching for repentance. They have disciplined the man and written him off. I think Christians have often been guilty of writing fellow-believers off too soon. We have been known for shooting our wounded. We must be better than that!

The Commanding Responsibility To Forgive

6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

The punishment — the extended exclusion from the church — has been "enough." Paul's fear that the offender "may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow" conjures up the picture of a terrible end because "overwhelmed" is literally "to swallow up" and is an allusion to the judgment of Korah when Moses prophesied that the earth would swallow up the rebellious:

And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!" (Numbers 16:31-34)

Paul sensed that the excommunication had left the man so drowning in despondent sorrow that he was in danger of being sucked down into the earth in death. Perhaps he was even contemplating suicide.

Unfortunately there is a worldly sorrow that brings death. Judas experienced that kind of sorrow. The Scripture says in Matt. 27:3 that When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Did his remorse lead to repentance? No. It led to suicide.

He felt Guilt. And he repented.

He felt Grief. And Paul wanted the church to extend forgiveness to relieve that grief.

What we find here is that Paul wrote a letter in which he rebuked the church. 

How grateful he is that in this case the sorrow produced was a godly sorrow that led to a change of heart.

The process of discipline, especially the ultimate discipline of excommunication and isolation from the Church and friends, is a traumatic experience in and of itself. Coupled with the guilt, shame and reproach brought upon one's family it could drive a person to the breaking point. But, if at the breaking point the person repents and asks God's forgiveness but at the same time is refused forgiveness by his friends, he may be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. He may have a nervous breakdown, he may turn bitter against God, and he may even commit suicide.

Obviously none of those results are the goal of discipline. The goal is restoration and the way to get there is forgiveness.

For Paul, forgiveness was of paramount importance for the sinner and for the church, and he concludes the thought by saying, "So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him" (v. 8). Paul did not merely beg the Corinthians to forgive the sinner — he viewed it as a matter of obedience. "For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything" (v. 9).

The Compelling Reasons To Forgive

To clinch his appeal to forgive the offender, Paul cites his own example as a model for the Corinthians: "Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ" (v. 10). Just as Paul had minimized the pain that the offender caused him, he minimizes his own forgiveness of the man with the dismissive "if I have forgiven anything," as if it were no big deal. The implicit message was, "I, the offended, did it, and you can do it too."

10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,

Not Forgiving Is Disgraceful.

It shows a heart that hasn't experienced grace.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask him to effect this reality: "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). The Lord drives the truth home in no uncertain terms in the next sentence after the great prayer: "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses"

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). This "forgiven people forgive" teaching was so integral to Jesus' teaching that he devoted an entire teaching to it in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which concludes,  But forgiveness and restoration is just as important. The motivation for forgiveness comes from a very simple fact, GOD HAS FORGIVEN us! Ephesians 4:32 says,

"'So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart'" (Matthew 18:35).

Not Forgiving Is Discouraging.

It shows a heart that treasures animosities.

Why is it so important that the Church forgive, comfort and reaffirm its love for a repentant member? The answer is given at the end of v. 7: "so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow."

Not Forgiving Is Delighting the Devil

11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

We must be willing to forgive, comfort, and reaffirm our love for the repentant.

Verse 8 adds that forgiveness and comfort must be joined by a reaffirmation of love. The word "to reaffirm" was a legal term used of ratifying covenants (it is so used in Gal. 3:15), and it suggests that the Apostle is urging them to make their love clear and certain. "Help him to feel the security of knowing he is loved by the Body. Don't leave him wondering about whether he is accepted. Don't make a second-class citizen out of him." (6:14, 15).

If we keep shutting people out because we "don't like them" we are doing the devil's work of stopping the lost from joining to the Saviour. We become a cult. Ungracious. Unloving. Controlling. Abusive.  We are defrauding ourselves of someone who belongs with us. Paul has in mind that Satan might take advantage of the situation and defraud the congregation of one of its members permanently.

The Confronting Exemplar To Forgive

"Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ" (v. 10).

"Paul could be saying, 'As I stand in the sight of Christ, I have forgiven the offence.' Alternatively, it could mean his forgiveness has the approval of Christ. In this case the translation would run: 'What I have forgiven has been forgiven in the sight of Christ who looks down with approval.' Finally, the expression could reflect the fact that at the time of writing the apostle had not had opportunity to express his forgiveness face to face with the offender, but nevertheless he had already forgiven the offence 'in the sight of Christ'." Colin Kruse  

What he is saying is that Paul forgave. Because not forgiving is something awful.  Forgiving is what the Lord Jesus is about.

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Freely?

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Fully?

Did The Lord Jesus Forgive You Finally?

You Must Forgive Freely

You Must Forgive Fully

You Must Forgive Finally

If there are people whom we refuse to forgive despite their repentance and pleas, we had better consider whether we are of the faith.

True Christian forgiveness is, as Paul declared, a matter of obedience "in everything" (v. 9). Brother and sister in Christ, you can do it. The late Corrie ten Boom recalled in her book The Hiding Place a postwar meeting with a guard from the Ravensbrück concentration camp where her sister had died and where she herself had been subjected to horrible indignities:

"It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbrück. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there — the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing.

"How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein," he said. "To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!" His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more?

Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me."

Christians, you can do it! God's Word says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32). "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Col. 3:12, 13).

The effect of forgiveness is seen in the parable of the prodigal son.

When the son returned there was Reconciliation

When the son returned there was Jubilation